Goodbye My Grumpy Old Lady

Today was another very sad day at the farm.  I had to take Mickey, our 19 year old cat, to my friend Gary the vet to put her to sleep.  Mick had been sick since last August - slowly losing weight from a gastric growth we presumed was cancer.  Because she was so old and gastric cancer issues are so tough to treat in cats, I had decided to let her just keep going as long as she wasn't in pain.  It became clear in the last few days the time had come.

Mickey and I had been through a lot of good and a few bad times together.  I called her a grumpy old lady, because she was, and because I am too.  Mick never particularly liked too many people.  She tolerated me, as befitting her Queen Mother status, but the last few years she softened up.  I assumed it was a touch of dementia, because she wanted to sit next to me all the time- and she wandered the house at night a lot crying.

We got Mick and her brother Maynard on Alex's First Holy Communion Day.  We lost Maynard about three years ago to the same thing Mickey had. We rescued them as kittens from a home in Maumee that had around a hundred cats.  They got lucky in finding us, and so did we with them.

Quite a few years ago, a friend did a past life regression on our pets for fun.  She said Mick had been worshiped back in Egyptian times and couldn't understand why we weren't worshiping her now.  And where were her jewels???  Mimi and I totally bought into it and went and got her a sparkly new collar with jewels on it.  She strutted around quite proudly in it and I've always made sure she had a sparkly jeweled collar since.  And made sure I buried her with it.

Mick was a true cat.  She never came when called, but would wander into the room a few minutes later as if she had intended to come there, and we just happened to be there too. She barely tolerated our old beagle Milly, but did have a soft spot for Jack.  Many a time I would look at her and her head was all wet from Jack licking her. I moved five times in the years I had her.  The first big move she hid and I was afraid we'd never find her.  By the last move she was sitting by the cat carrier at the front door so I wouldn't forget her.

I'll never forget my grumpy old lady.  When the kids left for college,  I would talk to her about things and she would act as if she was listening - or just waiting for me to go get her some cheese from the fridge. She liked to sit on a chair next to the dining room table when we had dinner - just waiting for her expected and deserved piece of whatever we were having. And she always got it.  She loved to follow the sun out here at the farm - first thing in the morning laying on a dining room chair, then migrating to the top of the couch in the living room in the afternoon. This past winter shewould always lay on the loveseat next to the wood burner and even until today, I've left a heated throw on for her to stay warm.

I hate these endings.  I cried to Gary today that I'm tired of doing this.  But my grumpy old lady had a great 19 years and so did we.  We buried her out next to Jack.  I'm sure they're together now, him licking her head and Mick pretending she barely tolerates him. And Maynard following his sister around like he always did.  Thanks Mick for always letting me be a grumpy old lady with you.  I miss you.